Sharief Per's scientific contributions

Arnebia Forssk. (Boraginaceae) is a genus of hispid herbs, mostly confined to Asia, with a few species occurring in the drier parts of north Africa. Seven species of Arnebia are known to occur in India. Arnebia benthamii (Wall. ex G.Don) I.M.Johnst., is an erect, herbaceous perennial and major ingredient of the commercial drug available under the name "gaozaban", which has antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. The roots yield a red pigment, shikonin (a dye), which has several medicinal properties and is marketed under the trade name "ratanjot". The chloroform extract of air dried aerial parts of A. benthamii on repeated coloumn chromatography over silica-gel afforded -sitosterol, -sitosterol--d-glucoside, kaempferol, kaempferol-7-o-methyl ether and aromadendrin. The identification of these compounds was made by concerted use of spectral and chemical methods.